Combined blade-guard and cleaner for ice skates



March" 1 8,1958 R; N, SKRAINKA 2,826,774

COMBINED BLADE-GUARD AND CLEANER FOR ICE SKATES Filed July 11, 1955 vINVENTOR. RALPH NICHOLAS SKRAINKA FIG-:4 1 WW ATTORNEY ilitfi COMBINEDBLADE-GUARD AND CLEANER FOR ICE SKATES This invention relates in generalto certain new and useful improvements in ice-skaters accessories and,more particularly, to a combined blade-guard and cleaner.

Ice-skaters, in order to keep the blades of their skates sharp andclean, ordinarily employ some form of bladeguards. Such devices areusually made of wood, leather, or synthetic resins and have a slot-likedepression into which the blade snugly fits. For cleaning purposes,however, the average skater relies upon a rag or even a pockethandkerchief with which to wipe oif the mud, grime, and slush whichaccumulates on the skate-blades during use. The principal difficultylies in the fact that it is essential to clean the skates reasonablywell immediately after leaving the ice when the skate-guard is beingapplied because it dulls the blades to walk any appreciable distanceaway from the ice without skate-guards, and yet if skate guards areapplied before cleaning the dirt and grime will become lodged in therunner-slot of the guard having a abrasive effect which will be equallydamaging to the skate-blade. Rags and cloths, however, are unhandy tocarry, frequently forgotten, and usually dirty. Furthermore, it israther difficult for a skater to use a rag or cloth upon skates whichare still on his or her own feet because very few persons aresufficiently ambidextrous and supple-limbed to reach all parts of theskates no matter what successive positions and postures are assumed.Finally, a cloth or rag is only effective in caring for ice skates whenthe latter are off the feet and are being thoroughly cleaned, dried, andpolished in conjunction with suitable cleaning liquids and otheradditional instrumentalities.

It is, therefore, one of the principal objects of the present inventionto provide a combined blade-guard and cleaner which is compact andconvenient to carry, handle, and use.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a device of thetype stated which is highly efiicient in getting into the crevices andirregularities of shape in a skate-blade and can be effectively used bythe skater to clean the skates while the latter are on the skaters ownfeet.

With the above and other objects in view, my invention resides in thenovel features of form, construction, arrangement, and combination ofparts presently described and pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing Figure l is a perspective View of a combinedskateguard and cleaner constructed in accordance with and embodying thepresent invention;

Figure 2 is a fragmentary side elevational view of the combinedskate-guard and cleaner shown in Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a fragmentary sectional View taken along line 3-3 of Figure2; and

Figure 4 is a fragmentary side elevational view of a modified form ofcombined skate-guard and cleaner constructed in accordance with thepresent invention.

Referring now in more detail and by reference characters to the drawingswhich illustrate practical embodi- States Patent 2,826,774 H PatentedMar. 18,1958

merits of the present invention, A designates a combined blade-guard andcleaner comprising an elongated body memberl provided in its upperlongitudinal face with a relatively deep narrow slot 2 sized and shapedto house the skate-blade and being formed preferably of wood or othersuitable material which will protectively house the blade withoutscratching or abrading it. At its forward end, the body member 1 isenlarged and curved upwardly to form an arcuate fore-end 3, which is, inturn, provided along its forwardly presented face with a slot 4 forsnugly receiving a bristle-base 5 molded from synthetic resin or othersuitable material and pref erably secured in place by small drive pins6. Set into the outer face of the bristle-base 5 are relatively long,outwardly projecting, stiff bristles 7 forming a somewhat arcuate brushelement b. Attached at its ends to the rear end of the body element, andextending arcuately over the slot 2, is aresilient securement member 8which may be stretched over the rear end of the skate-blade in aconventional manner to hold the latter securely within the slot 2.

While actively skating, the skater can carry the combined blade-guardand cleaner A in a pocket or it can be laid aside in any convenientlyremembered storage place directly adjacent to the ice. When the skaterdesires to discontinue skating and leave the ice, the bodymember 1 maybe grasped near the rear end and used in the manner of a long-handledwhisk-broom to remove grime, slush, and similar foreign matter from theblades and under sides of the skates. Thereupon, the cleaned skate-bladecan be slipped into the slot 2 and conventionally secured therein bymeans of the securement member. In this position, the bristles 7 willnot interfere with walking and similar uses to which the blade-guardsmust conventionally be suitable.

If desired, it is possible to provide a modified form of blade-guard andcleaner A, as shown in Figure 4, which is substantially identical withthe previously described blade-guard and cleaner A, except that theforeend 10 is somewhat enlarged and provided with a flat top surface 11which is tufted with bristles 12. The blade-guard and cleaner A is usedin the same manner as the blade-guard and cleaner A, as previouslydescribed.

It should be understood that changes and modifications in the form,construction, arrangement, and combination of the several parts of thecombined blade-guard and cleaner may be made and substituted for thoseherein shown and described without departing from the nature andprinciple of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure byLetters Patent is:

I 1. A combination guard and cleaner for ice-skate blades whichcomprises a straight elongated handleforming member having a channelextending longitudinally thereof sized for snugly accommodating a skateblade, said member terminating at one end in an enlarged portion havinga somewhat arcuate end face and a plurality of bristles set into suchface and extending outwardly therefrom at an angle to the longitudinalaxis of the handle-forming member.

2. A combination guard and cleaner for ice-skate blades which comprisesa straight elongated handleforming member having a channel extendinglongitudinally thereof sized for snugly accommodating a skate blade,said member terminating at one end in an enlarged portion having asomewhat circular end face and a plurality of bristles set into suchface and extending outwardly therefrom perpendicularly with respect tothe longitudinal axis of the handle-forming member.

3. A combination guard and cleaner for ice-skate blades which comprisesa straight elongated handleforming member having a channel extendinglongitudinally thereof sized for snugly accommodating a skate blade,said member terminating at one end in an enlarged portion having asomewhat circular end face and a plurality of bristles set into such endface and projecting radially outwardly therefrom.

4. A combination guard and cleaner for ice-skate blades which comprisesa straight elongated handleforming member having a channel extendinglongitudinally thereof sized for snugly accommodating. a skate blade,said member terminating at one end in an enlarged portion having asomewhat arcuate end face, and a plurality of bristles set into suchface and extending forwardly and outwardly therefrom at an angle to thelongitudinal axis of the handle-forming member, said member also beingprovided with means adapted to hold an ice-skate blade securely withinsaid channel.

5. A combination guard and cleaner for ice-skate blades which comprisesa straight elongated handleforming member having a channel extendinglongitudinally thereof sized for snugly accommodating a skate blade,said member terminating at one end in an enlarged.

portion having a somewhat arcuate fore end provided with a forwardlypresented slot, 3. brush base mounted Within said slot and provided witha plurality of bristles extending forwardly and outwardly therefrom andat an angle to the longitudinal axis of the handle-forming memher, andmeans on said handle-forming member for holding an ice-skate bladesecurely within said channel.

6. A combination guard and cleaner for ice-skate blades which comprisesa straight elongated handleforming member having a channel extendinglongitudinally thereof sized for snugly accommodating a skate blade,said member terminating at one end in an enlarged portion having asomewhat arcuate fore end provided with a iiat top surface, a pluralityof bristles set into said fiat top surface and extending outwardlysubstantially at right angles therefrom, and means on said handleformingmember for holding an ice-skate blade securely within said channel.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS D.114,558 North May 2, 1939 1,788,433 Johnson Jan. 13, 1931 2,230,671Skeese Feb. 4, 1941

